EDMONTON – Air Canada suspended non-stop flights between Edmonton and London’s Heathrow Airport this winter because the airline was offended by Edmonton International Airport’s announcement of a competing connector route, according to a senior airline executive’s letter.

“Your recent announcement that Icelandair, with some financial and other support from YEG, will be commencing service between YEG and Reykjavik Airport (KEF) gave us cause to revisit our YEG international operations,” wrote Derek Vanstone, Air Canada’s vice-president of corporate strategy for industry and government affairs. YEG is the industry code for Edmonton International Airport.

The letter was obtained Wednesday by the Journal.

Vanstone’s letter was sent to Reg Milley, president and CEO of Edmonton International Airport, on Oct. 8.

A day later, Air Canada confirmed it was suspending the Edmonton-London flights between Jan. 8 and March 28, 2014.

A spokeswoman said the airline made a “commercial decision” because the route has struggled with profitability during the winter months despite ongoing promotion. It did not mention Icelandair in its statement.

In his letter, Vanstone tells Milley the airline will suspend the flights and mentioned the challenge of operating the Edmonton-London service in winter.

“Despite that, Air Canada has invested in the market and maintained year-round service for six years,” Vanstone wrote.

Vanstone wrote Air Canada will not immediately change its remaining summer service between Edmonton and London, but suggested the airline wants unspecified concessions to continue the service and notes that it will begin talks with other airports for the London-Heathrow service.

“We will be looking for a proposal from the Edmonton Regional Airport Authority that will ensure that our YEG-LHR operation can remain viable as a year-round service. This is not a decision that we are taking lightly, but it is one that reflects our profound disappointment in the manner in which this has been handled.”

Vanstone also took issue with comments Milley made at a news conference in September announcing Icelandair would begin regular scheduled service between Edmonton and Reykjavik, providing access to more than 20 destinations across Europe.

“In nine hours, you can be in Paris from Edmonton,” Milley told reporters at the time. “The other thing is that going through Heathrow can be a bit of a challenge for people if they’re connecting on to go somewhere else, whereas Reykjavik will be a really friendly airport for them to be able to go through.”

Vanstone wrote: “We were specifically very disappointed with your comments reported in the Edmonton Journal, which promoted the Icelandair service at the expense of Air Canada’s LHR (Heathrow) service …. Frankly, we expect more from our partners.”

Air Canada released a brief statement Wednesday, responding to a request for comment.

“Reykjavik (KEF) is a hub airport that competes directly with London Heathrow for connecting traffic to many of the same points in Europe which is a factor in the Edmonton-London route’s year-round route performance,” said an email from Air Canada spokeswoman Angela Mah.

Heather Hamilton, spokeswoman for Edmonton International Airport, declined to comment on the letter, but said Air Canada has withdrawn flights from January to March while Icelandair service does not begin until March.

“It’s not that Icelandair’s service is making it hard to fill that winter eight weeks because Icelandair isn’t operating at that time,” Hamilton said.

She did not say what incentives Icelandair or Air Canada receive, but said marketing partnerships with airlines are a common part of the airport business. She said it is the airport authority’s job to secure new carriers and routes to meet passenger demand.

“Our whole mission is to get more flights to more places and the reason we do that is because passengers have been saying that’s what they want,” Hamilton said. “So when we can get more flights, more non-stop flights, it’s better for business, it’s better for passengers and it’s better for Edmonton.”

Mayor-elect Don Iveson said he is taking the matter seriously.

“I can’t speak to the content of the allegations because I haven’t seen them, but I think Air Canada is making a very bad business decision here,” Iveson said.

“This is one of the fastest-growing air travel markets in North America and I use that London flight every time I’m in Europe, and as mayor I expect to use it for business and I would hate to have to fly with somebody else.”

Iveson said one of his first priorities will be to lobby Air Canada to keep its Edmonton-London service, especially since the federal government has just announced a massive free trade deal with Europe is moving ahead.

“It’s already come up in my preliminary conversations with business community leaders and it’s something we’re going to be putting a full-court press on in the very near future. I have to meet with a few more people, but we’re formulating a strategy to convince Air Canada to keep this flight.

“What’s best for Edmonton and what’s best for Air Canada is to continue that flight. It’s the neighbourly thing to do and it should also be a good business decision.”

He said if Air Canada drops the service entirely, he believes another carrier will step in.

“It’ll be a good business decision for somebody to provide direct air service from Edmonton to western Europe. I would prefer that it’s (Air Canada), but if it’s somebody else, then it’s somebody else.”

Vanstone was Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s deputy chief of staff and was chief of staff to federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty from 2007 to 2010 before joining Air Canada in September 2012.

According to Vanstone’s letter, a copy was sent to Alberta Tourism Minister Richard Starke, who has been outspoken on the importance of increasing air access for the Alberta economy. Starke did not speak to the issue on Wednesday.

Brad Ferguson, president and CEO of Edmonton Economic Development Corp., lambasted Air Canada when it cut winter service earlier this month, but declined to comment on the latest development Wednesday.